The Barn
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Chickens not laying
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Chickens not laying
Just wanted to have a discussion on why chickens stop laying. My 11 girls are 2 years old and they have gone from 7-10 eggs a day this past Fall to 2-4 eggs per day this Spring. We were not affected when this started happening with other chicken tenders this past fall. We buy our girls a non- GMO , corn, and soy free food that is made here in Texas. I know it’s gotten hot here, but this Spring was pretty mild. We give them herbs to boost their immune systems , ACV once a week and overall they are healthy. We are at a loss and just wonder if anyone else has had this issue. There have been lots of Geo-engineering ( aka chem- trails) over the Texas skies and it just makes me wonder if this could be part of it.
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17 Replies
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My girls slow down when it’s massively hot here. We have 110-115 heat index’s right now. They cut down on feed and increase their water consumption. I don’t know where you are but it’s normal during excessive heat. And we have lots of heat from now till october ish. Not to mention that at two years old they don’t produce as many eggs as they did at 1 year olds
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by MSAnnie.
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Thank you, I appreciate your feedback.
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They slowed down before it got really hot. I guess we just didn’t realize that you only get one good year if laying.
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It depends on the breed. Just because they are 2 years old doesn’t mean they don’t lay or barely lay. We typically have barred rocks and buff Orpingtons and yes, after 1 year, their production drops but not to the extent you’re describing. We have had hens 2-3 years old who lay every-other-day. Again, it depends on the breed.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Funny you should post this, as my husband and I were just having this conversation a couple hours ago. Our hens were pumping out eggs and then they drastically slowed down a few weeks ago. It’s not that hot yet, so that’s not it and many of our hens are young. We’re at a loss as well. We have 12 hens and we get maybe get 3-5 eggs a day down from the usual 9-10. We’ve raised chickens for years and have never experienced this. Bizarre.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Freesteader473.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Freesteader473.
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We have Rhode Island Reds and Pearl Leghorns. They just turned 2 this February. We have tried everything. Just really strange.
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Those are pretty good laying breeds — I highly doubt their egg production is down that much because they’re 2. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I’m in the same boat you are. Lol.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by
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May be depressed make a few changes to their routine maybe some new toys different snacks and such…
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Over here to, a lot a spraying and heat. Breeding season all ready over and they get good feed with foraging. Going to give them high protein diet, with cat feed and eggs.
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Chickens not laying…🤔I feel their pain!
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I free range my chickens and every year they slow way down with laying spring/summer. They also when laying want nothing to do with laying in the coop. I have to search my property to find where they are laying and I’ll find a nest with 20 eggs that can’t be eaten at that point. I keep trying to explain to them that it doesn’t work for me but they just laugh me off.
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Ugh mine too! The are mostly confined to their run because I have so much in the garden and not all gardens are fenced (working on this) but some will get out and I’ve found clutches of eggs around that I just have to toss to the company at that point. I even had one hen sitting on a large clutch right where we are excavating for a new driveway. She refused to move even with the excavator moving stuff around her so the man called me out and I moved her and nest only to have her flip me the bird and refuse to sit on her eggs again so that wasted all those eggs too!
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Gets really frustrating sometimes doesn’t it. Goes with the territory 😂
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Lol yes, but I’ll take that frustration over the frustration of dealing with inflation, shortages, and chemical laced foods at the grocery store!
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Big time agreement with that.
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Is there a chance they are laying more but hiding them? I don’t know your setup so maybe that’s not possible. But I know sometimes in the summer here suddenly one or more will decided to put all their eggs somewhere new and it takes me a bit to find them. Most of the time they just lay in their nest boxes, but they do free range three acres so there are plenty of hiding holes. 🙂
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Took me a while to find where ours were hiding them. As soon as I gathered them, they went back to laying in the nest.
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